LoL: 2021 LEC Summer Playoffs Recap- Rogue vs Misfits

Recapping the intense LEC Summer Playoffs series between Rogue and Misfits.

After an exciting Summer Split, the LEC is finally into Playoffs. Six teams are entering into the fray but only one will claim the crown. Also on the line are precious spots at the World Championship, the most prestigious event of the year. Rogue and Misfits kicked off the Playoffs with an absolutely banger five-game series that was expected to be somewhat one-sided. Misfits Gaming had a very dominant regular season, but their road to Worlds lead them to Rogue. Did Vetheo and co. rise up to the challenge?

Game One

The first game of the 2021 LEC Summer Playoffs had surprises even in the drafting phase. Odoamne brought out the Tahm Kench top lane, which HiRiT answered with a Gnar pick. While the matchup favors Gnar in a vacuum, Inspired made sure that the Weak Side King got an early lead by taking First Blood in the lane with the aid of the mighty catfish. After the great start, Misfits took a kill back in the bot lane, which was answered by a double Teleport play by Rogue, and around six minutes the scoreline was already 4-1 in favor of Rogue.

The strongest regular-season team took control of the game after that, having a 5k gold lead after 13 minutes. Misfits Gaming tried to get ahead somewhere on the map, tried to pick fights to get back in the game, but Rogue shut down every single one of their attempts. Misfits seemed like they had some communication issues as well, losing fights because they didn’t wait for their ADC to join the fray.

We can’t brush past Hans Sama and his Ziggs though, as the Hexplosives Expert proved to be one of the strongest parts of the Rogue team, even with a 12/2 Lucian and a 7/1 Xin Zhao. Hans Sama was on point with his Satchel Charges and his Mega Inferno Bombs regularly set up favorable fights for his team.

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Game Two

The Rabbits came back stronger in Game Two, tieing the series 1-1. After RazorK lost both of the Rift Scuttlers, Inspired tried to ruin HiRiT’s day again but the Korean Carry of Misfits anticipated the attack in top lane and made a quick escape. After the play, Vetheo Teleported top to secure First Blood, putting Misfits at an early advantage. Right after the first kill, Misfits pressed on and had a three-kill lead around the seven-minute mark.

The first two games were games where the teams played really uncharacteristically, as Rogue focused on top side in Game One while Misfits put more emphasis on their bot side. Kobbe and Vander played a duo of old in Xayah and Rakan but they managed to neutralize the Varus-Braum combo of Hans and Trymbi very well.

Misfits Gaming skirmished nonstop to keep up their lead, and the plan worked out in their favor. They were a bit sloppy in some of the fights but managed to keep putting Rogue behind, taking the Tier One and Tier Two turrets on top with one Rift Herald and killing Odoamne as the cherry on top. The match was decided when Misfits got Infernal Soul while simultaneously fighting Rogue. But after Razork secured the fourth Drake, the scales tipped in the Rabbits' favor, even though Larssen landed a multi-man Orianna ultimate. After the successful team fight, the new contenders of the LEC closed out the game.

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Game Three

In Game Three, we saw Rogue bouncing back from the loss in Game Two. Misfits Gaming tried to counter Odoamne’s Camille with a Fiora pick for HiRiT, but the Grand Duelist wasn’t grand at all. HiRiT failed to realize the potential of his pick even after a great 1v2 for First Blood in the top lane and so he couldn’t be the carry the team needed. It just wasn't his day.

But theMisfits' was miscommunication yet again. RazorK engaged fights too early with no backup from his team and died too early. He engaged after HiRiT ran away in the top lane around the nine-minute mark too, giving two kills over after his teammate tried to help him but was overwhelmed by Rogue players. And while Misfits had some good moments, such as Vetheo shining on his signature Zoe pick, and when Kobbe sniped Larssen after a team fight Misfits lost, it wasn't enough.

Speaking of that fight, Rogue turned it around beautifully after Larssen got hit by Vetheo’s bubble and almost lost the fight. The winners of the Summer regular season were as dominant as ever, trying to erase their weaker performance in Game Two. Inspired played spectacularly on Viego (again), and the team even had a failsafe in Hans Sama’s Kog’Maw. Rogue controlled the game after the first five minutes, and they ensured their victory after winning a team fight at the 30-minute mark, taking Infernal Drake for the Soul, then defeating the Baron after Larssen assassinated RazorK. At 2-1 for Rogue, they were just one win away from another top-three finish and a spot at Worlds.

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Game Four

Misfits Gaming managed to hold on in Game Four, going into the final game after their best match in the series. They spiced up the bot lane again with a Jhin-Trunde duo, which turned out far better than their previous compositions. Plus, HiRiT finally woke up after three games. He played Jayce in the top lane and managed to put on a performance that resembled the regular season. It was easily his best game in the playoffs so far.

Misfits won the game after Rogue performed a nearly perfect dive for First Blood in the bot lane in the early game. After the dive, the fighting continued, and by the five-minute mark, the teams were tied 4-4 in kills. Misfits took the first Herald which helped them take the first turret in top lane, putting HiRit at a great advantage and putting Odoamne very far behind. Vetheo also played very well, assassinating targets with LeBlanc left and right.

After Rogue fell behind early, they seemed desperate to find something and took fights that weren’t in their favor, giving more kills and gold to Misfits. At 27 minutes, they tried to stop the Rabbits from taking Baron. They almost managed to, but Misfits won the team fight by an inch and destroyed Rogue’s Nexus at 32 minutes. The signature top side of Misfits looked great and RazorK played fights and skirmishes much better than in Games One through Three. Meanwhile, HiRiT and Vetheo (with the help of their bot lane) secured the win and Game Five for the team. The Worlds dream lived on!

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Game Five

But only until Game Five. Misfits started the match in a good fashion again, managing to take some early kills even after they lost First Blood to a bot lane dive again. That was not the only similarity between Games Four and Five in the first half, as RazorK managed to take the first Herald and destroy the first turret on top with HiRiT. The top laner had much to prove after Weeks One and Two, and he picked Gnar again so he really wanted to make things right.

On the side of Rogue, Larssen looked shaky and monstrous at the same time. He chunked out Vetheo’s Akali a number of times but also mistimed some Scatter the Weaks with Syndra which cost Rogue some deaths. The Misfits mid lane, on the other hand, played exceptionally, finally bringing out the Akali for the final game.

Inspired takes the lead

But no early leads, no Akalis and no great Enchanted Crystal Arrows (which Kobbe had a number of, forcing crucial flashes from the members of Rogue) could stop the Master of the Jungle himself. After the first half of the game, the battle turned into the Inspired-show. Honestly, he won game after game for Rogue, even managing to win the fight after Misfits took Infernal Soul and take the Baron.

Armed with the Hand of Baron, Rogue stormed the top Inhibitor turret of Misfits, and in one of the best team fights of the Summer Split, Inspired achieved the first Pentakill of the season. The Rogue jungler fought 1v3 with the Misfits bot lane and jungle, almost dying no less than four times, but pulling through and keeping Rogue afloat. After the fight, Rogue lured Misfits into a chokepoint at the Dragon Pit and won the team fight even against a Mega-Gnar HiRiT, then destroyed the Nexus of the Rabbits.

Rogue secured themselves one of the spots for Worlds 2021 but looked shakier than anticipated. The fact that Misfits Gaming gave them a hard time after Rogue dominated them all season can be alarming for the players. Nevertheless, the series was a banger, and now Rogue will fight in the Upper Bracket Finals while Misfits will continue in the Lower Bracket.

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